Saturday, February 1, 2014

A while ago I received some sample miniatures from Bill of TableTopScale.com in the United States. The review bags contained samples of his Force20 Fine Scale Miniature range more specific of his historical diorama specials called "Port of Call" and "G-men, Gangsters and Spies" and the ultramodern worlds packs called "Amazons", "Swat-X" and "Tuaregs". Force20 Fine Scale Miniatures offers you two unique white-metal figure ranges. The historical range in true 20mm scale has a WWII era focus and is packaged in five-figure packs and larger “diorama special” packs containing nine or ten figures. The ultramodern range, sculpted in heroic 20mm scale, offers a wide selection of paramilitary and civilian figures with ultramodern, sci-fi, and alternative worlds themes.

The Miniatures

I received the miniatures in the bags as they are originally retailled note that these packs were samples and are packed in certain sets so not at random. You can find all the available miniature packs with their content here. I also have to say the miniatures arrived quick at my doorstep and were pacaked in a padded envelope. I have added a picture of the miniatures in their ziplock bags.

As previously said I have received samples of different ranges so I will first of all take a look at the ultramodern range which features heroic sized 20mm metal miniatures and is retailled in packs of five unique miniatures. This range currently contains all sorts of modern and futuristic miniatures such as Swat members, Tuaregs and Amazons. I have received samples of all packs so I have added some pictures and remarks per pack. Before we continue I must add that these pictures were made very close to the miniatures so some parts may look a bit rough but at arms length they look fine especially after a suitable paintjob.

Above you can see a picture of two Tuareg miniatures who are seemingly equipped with modern/ futuristic weapons. These miniatures are my favorites of the modern samples I have recieved as they can easily be used on a desolate desert planet such as Tatooine to raid Hydrogen farms or attack Pod races!

Another pack are the Amazons, these female miniatures are also armed with modern/futuristic weapons and could be easily used as heroes and named characters in your wargame as they have a lot of character. Although I like these miniatures I must say that the first miniature from the left looks a bit odd due the long legs but I only noticed this minor issue when looking at the pictures as from a distance they look fine.

The last samples came from the Swat pack and contain some modern swat members armed with mordern machineguns. As you can see these miniatures are sculpted in a very dynamic pose with one of the miniatures checking or steadily advancing towards their target while the other one running for cover. We will later take a look at the scale of these miniatures along the others during the scale comparison.

Then we have the metal cast historical miniatures from the diorama special sets. These miniatures are sold in larger packs of around 9-10 miniatures and are scaled true 20mm. The samples I received came from the two diorame sets that are available and some of these are my personal favorites of the received samples.

The miniatures above are my favorites of the bunch and come from the "Port of Call" diorama pack. This lovely pack contains all sorts of harbor personnel and civilians and is ideal to represent the Innsmouth populace in the Lovecraftian horror stories. As you can see each of these miniatures is full of character and just screams to be painted up and used in a pulpy wargame.

The miniatures above came from the other diorama pack which features an array of police officers, gangsters and spies. This pack would also fit to be used for Lovecraftian investigators and would also be great to replay 1920's gangster actions in Chicago! Although I also like these miniatures I must say that the weapons look a bit oversized and that the guy shooting has a pair short legs but as said previously these pictures really represent the look of the miniatures as when placed on a table and looked at they look good.

Scale comparison

To give you an idea of the size difference between the heroic and non-heroic miniatures I have added a comparsion pictures and while I was busy I also added some 15mm miniatures. From left to right you can see: TableTopScale.com true 20mm historical miniature, TableTopScale.com heroic 20mm miniatures, The Ion Age heroic 15mm miniature and a Armies Army true 15mm miniature.

The conclusion

As you can see TableTopScale.com produces some nice 20mm miniatures which can easily be used for a number of different settings. I must admit that I especially like the historical miniatures as they full of character. Some of these miniatures have minor issues such as too large rifles or long/ short legs but as previously stated these issues can't been seen observed at arms length so aren't so bad. All of these miniatures can be bought at the TableTopScale.com website and I also received the news that more packs will be released in the future including the start of their upcoming comprehensive World War Two range in packs of five miniatures.